Rainbow Gatherings are temporary, loosely knit communities of people, who congregate in remote forests around the world for one or more weeks at a time[2] with the stated intention of living a shared ideology[3] of peace, harmony, freedom, and respect.

The goal was to create what they believed was a more satisfying culture — free from consumerism, capitalism, and mass media — one that would be non-hierarchical, that would further world peace, and serve as a model for reforms to mainstream society.

However, the values actually exhibited by the group have at times varied quite a bit from this ideal,[6] with recent decades showing increasing levels of crime at the events,[7][8] and some organizers stating the core principles have been modified, and become more mainstream, in an effort to attract more people.

[9][10] Influenced by 1960s counterculture and the non-commercial rock festivals of the early 1970s,[9] Rainbow is a "revitalization movement" with many philosophies and practices that have roots in the historic utopian traditions of the mid-19th century.

[6] Despite the movement's environmentalist and pacifist aspirations, Gatherings, which are typically held in national forests and other ecologically sensitive areas, are described as having a negative impact on the local environment.

However, a week before the festival was to begin, local authorities banned the event, and state police blocked the road to the lake, only letting through tourists with reservations for a nearby resort.

There was also strong representation from other regions of the U.S.[citation needed] In 2017, the United States gathering was held near the 1.4 million acres (5,700 km2) Malheur National Forest in eastern Oregon.

Aside from taking up collections (the "Magic Hat" in Rainbow parlance) for essential items purchased from the local community, there is little or no exchange of currency internally at a Gathering.

[22] Gatherings are loosely maintained by open, free form counsel circles consisting of any "non-members" who wish to be part of a conversation,[21] which use consensus process for making decisions.

A ritual talking stick, feather or other object is passed around the circle to allow everyone the opportunity to speak without being interrupted; this is a custom appropriated from Indigenous peoples of North America.

In addition to feeding passers-by, kitchens send food to the one or two large communal, predominantly vegetarian meals served daily in the main meadow.

It is common to find physicians working with herbalists, EMTs helping massage therapists and naturopaths coordinating with Registered Nurses on patient care.

Even those without medical experience are encouraged to help with things such as procuring water and cooking for the healers, who are often too busy to attend main circle or visit other kitchens.

[citation needed] Within the Rainbow Gathering, security, conflict resolution, and emergency situations are handled by Shanti Sena ("peace army" in Sanskrit), which includes anyone who is capable of helping at that time.

This type of interference with police operations resulted in numerous arrests in the 1987 gathering in North Carolina, with state, federal and local officers being assaulted, blocked from patrol areas and threatened.

The Shanti Sena at the '87 gathering were characterized by local, state, and federal officers as a criminal gang and were suspected to have collaborated in the assault on an Asheville Citizen-Times reporter.

[citation needed] Difficulties include: In recent years, there have been increasing reports of drifters and vagrants who attach themselves to gatherings where they engage in hard drug use, sexual assault, theft and violence.

In 2014, Heber City, Utah police arrested Leilani Novak-Garcia, known as "Hitler", who repeatedly stabbed a man at the annual gathering after he tried to stop her honking her car horn.

[54] In an October 2008 report the American Civil Liberties Union stated: The U.S. Forest Service systematically harasses people who attend Rainbow Family gatherings on public lands.

[55]In 2016, the American Civil Liberties Union in Vermont issued a report expressing concern over federal law enforcement activities that the ACLU describe as "overzealous" and "unconstitutional".

The ACLU-VT sent letters to law enforcement officials calling for an end to the illegal targeting of Rainbow Gathering attendees expressing First Amendment rights on public land.

[56] In an October 2008 report the American Civil Liberties Union stated, "The U.S. Forest Service systematically harasses people who attend Rainbow Family gatherings on public lands.

Judge Bilby called attention to the selective enforcement of the regulation, and in any case ruled it unconstitutional, in part because it required expressive assemblies, but not non-expressive ones, to obtain permits.

[40] The Forest Service has dealt with the scale of the US Annual Rainbow Gathering in the past by assigning a Type 2 National Incident Management Team (NIMT).

[67] The ACLU produced a report following their investigation of the incident in which they were critical of the officers for engaging in a pattern of harassment, using overzealous enforcement techniques, and using small violations as a pretense for larger searches.

In July 2011, a woman named Marie Hanson, from South Lake Tahoe, California went missing in Skookum Meadow, Washington state while attending the 2011 Rainbow Gathering at Gifford Pinchot National Forest.

[86] In 2015, at a regional gathering at Apalachicola National Forest in Florida, 24-year-old attendee Wesley "Dice" Jones was shot and paralyzed by Clark Mayers, 39, of Milledgeville, Georgia.

[87][88][89][90][91][92] In July 2018, Joseph Bryan Capstraw, 20, was arrested in Elizabethtown, Kentucky, after confessing to the murder of a woman he met at a Rainbow Gathering in Lumpkin County, Georgia, the week before.

[93][94] In February 2021, Larry "Frank" Dugger, who was attending a Rainbow Gathering at the Ocala National Forest, was shot and killed by an unknown assailant.

World Gatherings have been held in Australia, Zimbabwe, Brazil, Costa Rica, Canada, Turkey, Thailand, China, New Zealand, Argentina, Guatemala, Mexico, Hungary, Egypt, Ethiopia, Indonesia, Taiwan, and Colombia.